The men were arrested at OR Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg on Saturday and would appear in court this week, the Hawks, an elite police unit, said in a statement yesterday.
Their travel and recruitment was allegedly facilitated by a South African woman, the Hawks said, without identifying her.
The arrests came a week after Bloomberg News reported that a group of about 20 young men from South Africa and Botswana had been tricked into fighting for Russia against Ukraine after being approached by Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former president Jacob Zuma.
Their families said they had been told they would train as bodyguards to work for Zuma’s political party but had been forced to sign contracts with the Russian military on arrival. Zuma-Sambudla resigned as a member of South Africa’s parliament for the party, uMkhonto weSizwe, on Saturday amid growing media reports about the stranded men.
"The individuals were intercepted and removed from the boarding gate after being flagged as suspicious" while preparing to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates before an onward journey to Russia, the Hawks said. They were then "referred to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State division", the police unit said.
Working as a mercenary or fighting on behalf of another government, or assisting their military, has been a crime in South Africa since 1998.
The Hawks said two other people were being sought. — TCA
